Jane Doe
by anongurl
Summary: An accident in the not-so-distant future shatters lives. JA LG
1. chappie 1

AN: Hi all! This is my first attempt at a Joa fic. Please read and tell me what you think. Next chapter should be up soon.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.    

David Chase glanced at his watch as he entered his department and headed down the hall to his office. It was only 6 in the morning and he had an important meeting to prepare for later that day. He was still the 'new guy' at the precinct and wanted to make a good impression.  He paused as he noticed a man who he didn't expect to see at that time of day.

            David stopped at the entrance to the office that was occupied by said man. He wrapped softly on the open door. "Hey Detective Girardi, what are you doing here so early?"

            The detective looked up, obvious dark circles under his eyes. If David new him better, he would make a raccoon joke, but he _was_ still the new guy. "Chase. Hey, I couldn't sleep, so I thought I should come in and make myself useful."

            David felt sympathetic towards the older detective. He was obviously very dedicated to his work. "Still working on the grow house-explosion case?" A grow house had exploded two weeks before, and the explosion had destroyed practically the entire block before it had been contained. The number of missing, dead and injured still weren't adding up.

            Girardi nodded. "Three bodies have yet to be identified and four are still missing. My favorite part is the six year old in critical condition in the hospital who no one has asked about yet." He finished sarcastically. "We also haven't finished picking through the rubble. Who knows how many more remains are buried."

            David nodded in understanding. "I worked on a similar case a few years ago. It was hard, took its toll on all of us."

            "Where'd you move from again?" Girardi asked, half his attention still on the folder in front of him.

            "Atlanta."

            Girardi looked up, full attention on the younger man. "The Grand Atlantis Mall explosion?"

            David nodded. "I'm impressed."

            "July 14th. Explosion of unknown cause, origin in boiler room. Foul play not suspected. 37 bodies have been identified. 2 bodies remain to be identified. Both male. 83 injured, 12 of which serious. More remains to be found."

            "Wow, detective, I'm very impressed. Didn't think you guys cared if it were out of your jurisdiction."

            Detective Girardi gave a sad smile. "Call it personal interest."

            "Oh, I'm sorry," David said, unsure of what to do.

            "Don't worry about it. It was two years ago." Detective Girardi said forcefully, like he was trying to convince himself that it didn't matter. But David knew better, before he had become a cop, he had gone to school for psychology. He knew that the detective was hiding something deep in himself.

            Instead of pushing the matter, he decided to brush it off. "You're right. Two years ago and they still haven't identified all the bodies, let alone the many Jane and John Doe's."

            "What?"

            David was surprised by the detectives forwardness. "There were a few unidentified injured, five last time I heard."

            "Why didn't I know about this sooner?"

            David shrugged. "These people may not have had anyone to identify them. They could have been alone, or had family or friends die in the explosion."

            "Or their families could think them dead."

            David nodded. "I guess that could happen. I really don't know. I wasn't in charge of that division."

            "Can you tell me who was?"

            "Detective Sharp took over."

            "Thank-you," Detective Girardi said, motioning that the conversation was over.

            David went to leave.

            "Do you mind closing the door behind you? I have a phone call to make."

            Will sighed as he stared at the phone, knowing he shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't be allowing himself to feel hope once again. He pulled off his glasses, resting his face in his hands. He'd felt false hope so many times and it was harder to recover every time it came crashing down around him. He'd gone to see so many bodies after the accident…

_Will stood beside the long, occupied gurney. The room around him white, sterile and cold. It sent shivers up his spine just thinking about it. How could it have come to this? His gaze shifted to the body on the gurney in front of him. The only thing separating him from body was a thin white sheet. He gave a nod to the medical examiner who quietly reached forward to pull the sheet back over the body's face. Will knew the answer before he even saw the face. He knew it wasn't who he was looking for, but he still waited, still hoped, just incase._

_"Well?" The examiner asked softly, no demands in his voice, no pushing, just simple understanding. Obviously he had done this many times before._

_Will simply shook his head._

            Will sighed again, knowing he was going to make the call, so he might as well get it over with. He picked up his phone and dialed to the call center. "Can you put me through to the Atlanta division please? Thank-you."

            He heard the phone begin to ring, meaning the connection had been made. There was no turning back now. The ringing stopped. "Atlanta Police Department, how may I direct your call?"

            "This is Detective Will Girardi from Arcadia. I need to speak to Detective Sharp."

            Again, the phone was ringing.

            "Sharp here."

            Will cleared his throat. "This is Detective Will Girardi, Arcadia division, I have a few questions about the Grand Mall explosion."

            "From two years ago?"

            "Yes, if that's okay."

            "I'll tell you whatever I can."

            "A source told me there were five injured that were never identified. I'm looking for information on them."

            "Hold on a sec, let me pull the file."

            Will waited impatiently for a few minutes.

            "Sorry about that, I had to make sure I got the right file. What kind of info are you looking for?"

            "I, uh, lost someone in the explosion and they have yet to be found…if you know what I mean."

            "I'm very sorry to hear that."

            "I wasn't aware of unidentified individual's. I just found out today."

            Sharp sighed on the other end of the phone. "I'm very sorry about that, the detective who originally had control of this case didn't exactly do everything that needed to be done. It took months for me to sort it out. There is a list names of missing people, probably 20 of them. I tried getting a hold of all of the familes, to see if they could identify anyone, but I could only get a hold of so many, managed to get a few criticals identified. But there are still four to be identified."

            "Really, my source said there were five."

            "One was identified last month."

            "Well, that's good."

            Sharp paused. "Well, the individual had been on life support since the accident. The family came to see him, got some closure and made the decision to take him off life support."

            Will sighed, not sure of what to say. "At least they got closure."

            "I don't know why you haven't been contacted yet. Is this person on the list of missing people?"

            "She should be. Her name is Joan Girardi."

            Sharp scanned the list. "She's not here."

            "That's strange…oh, check for Joan Rove."

            "Yup, we have one Joan Rove. Says we were unable to get a hold of husband, Adam Rove."

            "Yeah, he can be hard to get a hold of."

            "Can you give me a general description?"

            "About 5'6, small frame, long hair…"

            "Dark brown hair?" Sharp asked.

            "Yes."

            "First on the list. Jane Doe number one: 5'6, skinny, long dark hair, found with wedding band."

            "Oh my God," Will whispered, "That could be her. What's her condition?"

            Sharp hesitated. "Severe head trauma. Amputation of left arm. She's been in a long-term care facility for the past year. On and off support."

      

            Will sighed sadly. "Where's the facility?"

            "We can send a photo of the girl. That might be easier."

            "No," Will said, stubbornly. "I have to see for myself."

            "I can respect that," Sharp said after a pause.

            Later that night, Will entered the high school art show, in search of his wife. He soon spotted her, in the middle of the room, surrounded by students. He allowed himself a smile. She looked flustered. But, whatever she said to them seemed to work, because she was soon left alone. He decided this was her best chance to talk to her.

            He approached her quickly and tapped her shoulder.

            "What now," he heard her mutter.

            "Don't worry, it's just me," he said as she turned around.

            Helen smiled. "Sorry, it's just been a long day."

            "Tell me about it."

            "What happened in your day?"

            Will shook his head. "Nothing, never mind." He had no intentions of letting his wife know anything until he was sure. However, plans of telling her he was going to a conference went out the window with the look she gave him. He sighed. "Okay, I found some things out this morning."

            "What kind of things?"

            "Things about the explosion."

            Helen sighed. "Will…"

            "I know, I know. I'm supposed to be letting go, but there's a girl who matches Joan's description."

            Helen's breath caught. "A girl? As in a live girl?"

            Will nodded. "I talked to the detective in charge today. Apparently there are four living victims who are unidentified."

            "But if she's alive, why hasn't she… identified herself?"

            "The girl has severe head trauma. She's in a long term care facility."

            "Oh," Helen said.

            "She'll never recover, but at least we'll know, you know?"

            Helen nodded, tears imminent in her eyes. "I can't believe she might be alive."

            "Who might be alive? Jane?"

            They both turned to see Adam standing beside him, showing a rarely seen amount of emotion.

            "Adam, I didn't realize you were here. It's nice too see you." Will offered a hand, which Adam shook.

            "I got in yesterday. I'm helping Mrs. G with the show." Adam said quickly, obviously wanting to talk about what he had heard earlier.

            "Adam, why don't we talk in a quieter place?" He said, motioning for Adam to follow him outside.

            Adam followed silently.

            Will stopped and turned to face his young son-in-law. Adam's tired facial features gave away nothing, but his anxiety was evident with him wringing his hands. Will looked down, noticing the gold band that was still situated on Adam's left hand.

            "I was in touch with a detective in Atlanta. Apparently there is a girl who matches Joan's description in a long-term care center."

            Adam seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say. "Do you think it's her?"

            Will shrugged. "I don't want to get my hopes up. But even if it is her, it won't be _her._ This women has suffered from severe head trauma. I don't know what kind of life she has, or could have."

            Adam shook his head. "I don't care."

            Will allowed himself a small smile. He had never doubted Adam's love for his daughter, and he certainly didn't now. "I'm flying out there first thing tomorrow morning. Detective Sharp is going to meet me at the airport and take me to the center."

            "I'm going with you." Adam said.

            Will nodded. "I thought you might say that."


	2. chappie 2

            Will stepped through the last set of doors separating them from the lobby of the small airport in Atlanta, Adam on his heels. His eyes immediately rested on an older man in the crowd of waiting people. Though he'd never seen the man in person, Will knew this was Detective Sharp. It was the eyes that gave him away; the deep knowledge and a sense of sadness that was held within them. Will strode up to the older man, reaching out a hand when he got close enough.

            "Detective Sharp?" He said, just a touch of question in his voice.

            The older man allowed a small smile. He nodded. "Detective Girardi."

            Will stepped aside, motioning to Adam. "This is my so-in-law, Adam Rove."

            Adam and Sharp shook hands. "Nice to meet you." Adam said.

            "You too."

            There was a moment of silence. "Well, I guess you two are wanting to get to the center?" It wasn't really a question, as Sharp turned and motioned for them to follow him to the car. The ride to the center, although close to an hour in length, was both the longest and shortest car ride Will or Adam had ever had. Both were lost in thoughts of what they would do if this woman was Joan, and what they would do if she was not.

            It was all too soon when Sharp pulled up in front of a large, stone building. It had to be three stories tall, with a long stone staircase up to the front door. There were large windows decorating the front and side of the building, but none were open and most covered with curtains. It didn't seem like an overly lively place.

            Will and Adam followed silently up the large stone staircase and through the glass doors. They came into a large, but in no way comfortable, front lobby. Sharp walked straight up to the front desk and spoke quietly to the nurse behind it. She nodded and quickly said something into a phone.

            "Someone will be right with you." The nurse said before going back to her work.

            "Thank-you," Sharp replied before heading back to Adam and Will.

            It wasn't long before an elderly nurse entered the room. There was no smile on her face, but happiness was evident in her eyes. One look and you knew she was happy with what she was doing in her life.

            "Hi," the nurse said. "My name is Louis. I understand you are here to see a patient?"

            Will cleared his throat. "Yes, we are. My daughter…we hope. She was involved in an accident two years ago. We thought she was dead."

            Louis nodded. "The mall explosion." She said, not asked, then to the men's looks. "I may look old and out of the loop to you, but I assure you, I know everything there is to know about all of my patients, even things they don't know themselves." She motioned for them to follow her through a set of heavy wooden doors and down a long hallway. Most of the doors were closed, and the occupants of the rooms with open doors didn't even notice their walk down the hall.

            "This wing is for our most critical," Louis explained. "It's on the ground floor so we can transport them out with the most ease in the event of an emergency." She paused at one door and turned to face the men behind her. She sighed before speaking.

            "I know you have high hopes for what is about to happen, but I must warn you. Even if this is the woman you are searching for, she is never going to be in any better condition than she is right now. She suffered severe trauma to her head and face, not to mention the rest of her body. She is very scarred and has little knowledge of what is going on around her." And with that Louis pushed open the door and stepped out of the way. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she said and she headed back down the hall.

            Sharp also stepped back, motioning for the two men to enter.

            Adam entered first, his facial features displaying nothing, but his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He walked in slowly, but surely, not looking at the figure in the bed until he was standing beside it. He immediately took in the short, wispy dark hair, as it contrasted significantly from the stark white pillow under the very scarred face. There was one patch of baldness, about two inches in diameter, on the side of her forehead, baring a jagged scar that traveled all the way down the side of her face to her chin. The woman's eyes opened for a few seconds, and as soon as Adam looked into them he knew. He felt tears spring to his eyes.

            Will followed only seconds behind the younger man, his eyes taking in the same form as Adam, also noticing the lack of left arm and the very fragile form of the women in the bed. He started at her face for a good minute, saddened that he couldn't picture a face under the scars, scared that the constant thoughts of whether or not he had found her that had swarmed his thoughts for the past twenty-four hours would be around longer. Because now he was here and he didn't know…

            "It's not her."

            Will looked up at the sound of Adam's voice, quiet, but firm. Adam met his questioning gaze.

            "It's not her," Adam repeated.

            "Adam," Will said quietly. "We can't be sure. It's not our fault. We can find out if it's her…just a few simple tests."

            Adam shook his head. "It's not her," he said for a third time.

            "How can you be sure?"

            Adam hesitated before lifting the sheet back over the women's left hand, remembering Will having mentioned a wedding band. He gently pulled the gold band off of the finger and held it up to the light to read the inscription on the inside.

            "It's not her," he said for the fourth time before dropping the ring into Will's hands and walking out of the room.

            Will sighed and lifted the ring up to see for himself. _Always & Forever._ Will shook his head. He had never actually thought to ask what had been written in Joan and Adam's wedding rings, but he knew this wasn't what it would be. It was too cliché for them. They had always been themselves, never acting like something they were not. Will carefully replaced the ring and covered the hand up with the sheet. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you. I-I hope you have someone to be there for you," Will said before turning and exiting the room himself.

            He immediately spotted Adam leaning against the wall beside the door. "It's not her," Will said, almost matching Adam's tone exactly. Adam simply nodded, understanding the thoughts running through Will's head, as they matched his own.

            "I'm not sure if I'm sad or…or…" Will trailed off.

            "Relieved." Adam stated.

            Will met Adam's eyes and an understanding passed between them. Finally Will nodded. "Yeah," he said softly. "Relieved."

            _Wedding bands are symbolic things, worn by couples to express and represent their love for each other. Inscriptions are thought through for long lengths of time and the final decision is what hopefully is the best representation of the couple in question. Some are cliché, some are original and make sense only to those who wear them. The poor woman in the care center had a ring with an often used, somewhat clichéd, but still meaningful- Always & Forever. The lost woman in the small apartment at the side of town had a more original inscription on her wedding ring, even if she didn't understand it- Good Ripples…    _      


	3. chappie 3

_Her entire surrounding were a startling shade of red. Flames were erupting through the walls, floors and ceilings. The man beside her was searching the crowd around them frantically. She didn't ask but she knew they were looking for someone. She suddenly felt afraid, and let out a small whimper, the situation becoming all to clear to her. The man beside her, whose hand held hers tightly, pulled her in close, almost as if saying goodbye. All thoughts of finding whoever it was they were looking for disappeared from her head. She felt tremendous comfort in the arms of the man whose face she couldn't see. A horrible cracking sound filled the air as the floor beneath them began to give. Even with the impending danger surrounding them, the arms around her tightened. And suddenly they were falling, and she couldn't hold on…_

She gasped aloud as she sat up in bed, her heart racing. There were tears running down her face, just like there always were. She had this nightmare almost every night, and it was always the same. She always woke up before she hit the end of the inevitable fall. She never saw the face of the man beside her. She never found out who he was.

The doctors told her that she was probably reliving what had happened to her in the fire. They said the people she was looking for had died. That the man she was with had died. That she was lucky. If only she could remember. She didn't feel lucky.

She had awoken in the hospital months after the accident and after more months in the hospital with daily treatments and physio she was released into the world. She could walk again, but would trade her legs for her memory. Walking is overrated when you are all alone. The cop she had talked to at the hospital had been nice, but couldn't help her. With no one to identify her and with no memory of her own, she would remain a Jane Doe.

Her mind wandered, as it often did, to the man in her dreams. She wondered for the umpteenth time if they had been married. She was pretty sure, based on the wedding ring that had been on her finger when she was pulled out of the building. It was the only thing she had from her old life. She pulled the chain she had around her neck out from under her nightshirt and held the gold ring between two fingers, turning it slowly. The moonlight streaming in her window caught the band and made it glimmer. She closed her fist around the ring and took a deep, shuddery breath as she lay her head back on the pillow and willed herself to sleep, hoping it would be dreamless.

Adam sighed as he opened his eyes, thus giving up hope of ever getting to sleep. It was barely four in the morning and the sun had yet to begin its infinite trip across the sky. Adam silently got out of bed, pulled a sweatshirt over his t-shirt and sweat pants and grabbed a key card before leaving the hotel room he was sharing with his father in law. He quickly made his way down the stairs and out the front door, ignoring the strange look he was given by the worker at the front desk.

Adam wandered the streets for the next few hours, while his mind wandered as well. Adam was surprised to notice it was quickly approaching eight in the morning when he glanced down at his watch. He sighed and turned around to head back towards the hotel. He had no idea how far he had walked, but he never had to worry about getting lost with his eidetic memory. He could always find his way back.

Adam quietly entered the hotel room, in case his father in law was still asleep. He quickly became aware of the sound of running water and realized Will was in the shower. He sighed and quickly changed into a new pair of clothes for the day ahead of him. He and Will were going to Detective Sharp's office to go over the case files. Adam wasn't expecting to find anything. But it was nice to have contacts, and if Will could go through all of the files and verify that she hadn't been found, he could at least sleep better.

Adam's thoughts were interrupted by the bathroom door opening. "Oh, Adam, you're back. I was wondering where you had gone."

Adam offered a half smile. "No where important. Just went for a walk."

"So early in the morning?"

Adam shrugged. "More like late last night."

Will offered the younger man a supportive smile. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Adam shrugged. "It's not your fault."

Will shook his head. "But it is my fault. I was the one who dragged you out here."

"You didn't drag me here. I wanted to come."

"But I was the one who brought your mind back here. I just can't seem to let us get past this. I know she's not coming back. That she- that she is no longer with us, but I can't seem to accept it. I feel like I'm not letting anyone get any closure."

Adam seemed to weigh his next words. "I've never been close to being past it. And you have nothing to do with that. No matter what I do, or how much time has passed, she's still in my head. It-it doesn't feel like she's dead. All of your sources have said she was gone, all of the detectives, and we haven't seen her since. All the evidence says to move on, but it just doesn't feel like she's gone. I don't know, maybe I'm going crazy-maybe I've finally cracked-" Adam's voice cracked as he trailed off. He turned his head away as he felt his eyes well. It wasn't a sensation he experienced very often, but he knew what it meant. And he didn't want his father in law to see him cry.

Will saw Adam's eyes well, and his heart went out to the boy. He missed his daughter, but he had a feeling he wasn't feeling as strongly as the boy in front of him. With only a slight hesitation, he pulled the young man into a quick 'manly' hug. After a quick pat on the back he pulled away. Adam wouldn't meet his eye.

"Adam, don't be embarrassed about your feelings. They only cement to me how much you cared for my daughter. I was worried about boys the minute she was born, but I never felt that I had to worry if she was with you, well, there was one time, but it didn't last long." He offered a small smile.

"Thank-you," Adam said, swallowing hard.

"So, let's make a deal. We will spend a couple days here, as long as it takes, and go through all of the information available on the case. We will ensure for ourselves that she has not been found, whether alive, injured or, well, not alive, and we will go home and move on. We will accept that she is gone and that she knows how much she was loved, but we will accept that she will not be coming home. There will be no more midnight internet searches, no more phone calls and no more sleepless nights thinking about could-have-beens. How does that sound?"

Adam took in his words. "I can't promise that it'll happen right away, but I can swear to try."

Will nodded and stuck out his hand. "That all I can ask. So, we have a deal?"

Adam shook his hand.

Will and Adam exited the taxi and walked up the wide, stone staircase to the front door of the Police station. Adam felt a sense of transition. He had spent the last two years hiding out from the world. He had thrown himself solely into his work, not concerned about the people around him. His friends, who had stayed in touch, had been trying to pry him out of his shell for the past year. He looked up at the large, stone building and sighed, knowing his life was about to change. He would be forced to find closure over the next couple days and hopefully, move on in his life. That didn't necessarily mean finding anyone new, that wouldn't happen for quite some time, if it happened at all, but it meant living life and being happy. Jane had taught brought him out of the shell he had been in after his mother died, and he knew she would be mad at him if she knew he had fallen back into it, only this time harder and deeper.

He followed as Will led the way through the lobby and to the front desk. Adam stayed silent, knowing Will was much more at home in this atmosphere and would know exactly what to say to get to Sharp's office.

Apparently he was right, because only seconds later, they were being led through a set of 'authorized personnel only' doors, up two floors and down a long, narrow corridor. They followed it right to the end, and entered a large, open room. It had a large desk against the wall at one side and a few empty filing cabinets in the other. The room seemed old and unused, paint was chipped and the floor barren.

"I'm glad to see you've made it here alright," Detective Sharp said, striding over from the desk, where Adam saw a stack of files. Detective Sharp shook both men's hands.

"I'm sorry for the ugly room," he said, motioning around with his hand, "but I knew we needed space and it was the best we had at short notice. I had everything brought up this morning. He waved a hand at the boxes stacked beside the desk, boxes that Adam hadn't noticed when he first entered the room.

"Well," said Detective Sharp. "Let's get started."

**_AN: I'm sooooo sorry about the extensively long delay. I had a really bad case of writers block (had to be hospitalized and am now on medication lol) and then got caught up with school and work and family and blah, blah, blah. Wrote this pretty fast. I hope it made sense. Look for next chapter ASAP. I really want to get this story done as quickly as possible. Big thanx to everyone for the awesome reviews. Oh, and sorry to Carole for not e-mailing you. I had some major e-mail problems and never got half of these reviews. Didn't see your note till right now._**


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